Republican Web Folks Still Suck
Somehow I managed to get on the NRCC email list. I don't generally mind these things, as I am on several lists from both parties and it is kind of interesting to see what marketing come-ons they are using at any particular moment.
But the NRCC has been spamming the hell out of me. This in and of itself I think shows a lack of understanding about the medium. You lose effectiveness really fast if you send, say, five emails in five minutes, which is what I just received. Worse, though, is that there is no opt-out link in the email. Who in this day and age is dumb enough to send out even quasi-legitimate marketing material and not include an opt-out? Morons. I am one of the those people who actually can and do write rules to sort my email box, so I can take care of the problem, but this is just bush league. If you are a GOP member, I would not be fooled by your parties happy talk that it is closing the gap on digital communications with the Dems. I see no such evidence.
During my brief foray into politics Chairing Equal Marriage Arizona, we were trying to message from the center right on the gay marriage issue. We found out, to our dismay, this is not at all a comfortable approach for established gay rights organizations (to say the least), but we thought it an intelligent and necessary approach to win on the issue in a red state. Anyway, one thing we found quickly is that there is no bullpen out there of talented web people on the Right, at least in Arizona. They are all on the Left. If I were a member of the GOP and actually cared about their fate, I would sure be looking for a way to fix this, perhaps with some sort of internship program to start developing a bench.
